Air Bag Experiment

We did an experiment to determine how many grams of NaHCO3 and 0.8 M H2SO4 were required to inflate a quart-sized Ziploc bag. We determined the volume of the Ziploc bag to be 1.350 L. Using the ideal gaslaw, the molar calculation was 0.547 mols. We did 2 different scenarios. One was with the NaHCO3 as the limiting reagent, the other was with the H2SO4 as the limiting reagent.

For initial limiting reagent calculations, we came up with 4.60 g NaHCO3 and 34.2 mL H2SO4. The post-lab question that's confusing us is: Assume your 1st trial (using "A" grams of solid and "B" mL of acid solution) results in the bag not inflating completely. Assuming ONE of the two reactants is in excess and one is limiting. How could you figure out which one is in excess and which one is limiting by doing exactly one more trial?

Additionally, we have to "explain in detail what changes we would make and how we would interpret the possible outcomes of the trial?" It's been a while since we dealt with limiting reagents, and my lab partner and I are confused on how to answer these post-lab questions. Thanks in advance for your help!

Solution Preview

One way to find out the limiting reagent would be to take the starting material, A grams and B mL, and add twice as much "A." If the A was originally the reagent in excess, then you should get no ...

Solution Summary

In this solution, the student originally asked for some clarification and explanation on how to determine the limiting reagent of a reaction in a real experiment.

The solution provides a suggested course of action and an explanation behind it.